'Quality over quantity' with deregulation, reform committee co-chair says

Kim Jong-seok, co-chair of the Presidential Regulatory Reform Committee, speaks during the 2024 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum held at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Quality outweighs quantity when it comes to Korea’s latest regulatory reform efforts as the country steps into a more mature phase of the process, says Kim Jong-seok, co-chair of the Presidential Regulatory Reform Committee.

Kim is prepared to annul vague and unpredictable regulations that lead to abuses of authority and only protect the establishment, and instead implement "smart regulations" that facilitate investment and foster new businesses simultaneously.

"Quality control is the right direction for regulatory reform, ditching the traditional way of focusing on quantity," Kim said during a speech at the 2024 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum held at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul on Wednesday.

"A lack of quality causes state-run institutions to indirectly impose on companies without a legal basis, primarily in the financial and food and drug industries."

Kim specifically pointed to "shadow" interference by the Financial Supervisory Service that may stretch out to newcomers in the local financial market, such as foreign banks.

Formed in 1998 after the Korean economy was hit by the financial crisis, the Presidential Regulatory Reform Committee is currently co-chaired by Kim and the prime minister. Composed of 16 civilian members and seven Cabinet ministers, the committee makes decisions with consideration for the private sector’s perspective.

All new regulations must be approved by the committee, which also monitors existing rules for areas of improvement and makes decisions based on proposals by various government bodies.

Around 100 new regulations have been tabled since the start of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, 60 of which the committee has dismissed. The Platform Competition Promotion Act was one proposal that was rejected.

"It's no exaggeration to say that the proposals would kill the entire online platform industry," Kim said. "We ordered a revision of the proposal."

"Some of the regulations now in Korea go against international standards," he continued. "The latest laws like the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and three housing bills are examples of 'low-quality' regulations, and thus, the compliance rate has to be low," he explained.

Kim presented six priorities for this year's reform strategies, with a pledge to ease regulations that hinder growth in business investments and employment.

"The committee will also focus on lifting regulations that cause immense discomfort to human life such as in retail and transportation," he said. "We will also work to promote new high-tech industries like artificial intelligence, biotech and blockchain."

The newest agenda item pushed by the committee is a closer look at rules that detrimentally impact the socially and economically disadvantaged, with a scope that includes self-checkout kiosks and unmanned stores that can prevent older adults or those with disabilities from freely using them.

Kim vowed to offer more autonomy to local governments as a possible solution to the population decline in rural areas. New regulations will also be devised to help the country reach its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 to return to 2018 levels.

To realize the reforms, Korea must resist protectionism and nationalism, the committee co-chair emphasized, concluding his speech by emphasizing the necessity for Korea to "reform outdated regulations to comply with the digitalized world and boost investment and trade."

Executives of Korean corporations praised the forum, especially for its role as a bridge between the government, corporations and diplomats from various countries.

"The topic itself was very useful, in the sense that the direction of Korea's regulatory reform is a shared concern of companies and ambassadors," said Lee Seung-yeol, vice president of public relations at SK Telecom.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]